Christmas Fruitcake Bars

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-3/4-inch jelly-roll pan with butter or margarine.

Place walnuts, raisins, dates, cherries and pineapple in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of flour and toss to coat fruit and nuts with flour. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat eggs just to mix. Add salt, sugar and vanilla; beat to combine. On low speed, add remainder of flour, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed. Stir in orange peel. The batter will be thin.

Pour batter over flour-coated fruit and nuts. Stir to combine and pour into prepared pan. Smooth into an even layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown. Reverse pan front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Cool completely in pan.

Cut into bars and dust with powdered sugar. To dust with powdered sugar, place the sugar in a small sieve and shake over top of cookies.

Will keep up to two weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. Great for mailing.